Tag Archives: perseverance

Good Monday morning folks! It’s been quite a while I ‘talked’ to you. A lot of things have pulled me in so many directions and I was trying to take a little break as well before my whirlwind started. And what a whirlwind it has been, tiring but in everything I give thanks to God. I’ll tell you about it in my next post.

To help me through this crazy time I developed a new craze for slow cooking. I didn’t slow cook at all, the way I was taught you cook all the major sauces and soups in bulk on the weekend and plan meals around them for the week. So slow cooking is something I had to warm up to. The kids liked some of the meals not all but it was a breeze for me but not at first. There were a few meals that didn’t come out right because I was not patient enough to follow the instructions properly. Or afraid something will happen so I stopped the process before hand. Sue me, it takes me a while to warm up to something..:-)

But then I did..I get the idea of what I want to have for dinner and put in all in the slow cooker in the morning. We are then off, I drop the kids in camp and head to work. At work I’m not worried that my house would burn down or something will spill over because I followed the directions on the package to a ‘T’. And also, I trust that the manufacturers of the crock pot knew what they were doing when they made it so it should work just as they said. So for my long 8 to 9 hour day I go about my business with the belief that when I get home I will have a nicely prepared meal. And I did. It’s convenient, healthy and the clean up is easy.

Okay if you know me you know I’m about to make this into an analogy right? Good. So here is it…anything that is worth having, with all the added benefits take time. You have to step out on faith and be willing to take a chance believing that your harvest will come in in due time. The microwave is a HUGE convenience but the quality of the meals that come from it or the fast food joint can’t be compared to those cooked meals. But getting to those delicious healthy meals is a journey that cannot be rushed… when I was a child and my mother would be in the kitchen preparing the meals and we would complain on the time it’s taking, my mom would answer, “Do you want me to put my hand in the pot? It’s cooking.” Then I would roll my eyes (when she isn’t looking of course) but I say that to my kids today. Yes good things take time and we have to be willing to do the job we’ve been assigned from heaven diligently, without complaining about the process.

Just as I trust the HUMAN that made the crock-pot with HUMAN hands that the pot will work according to the instructions. I will be crazy not to TRUST A GOD who made heaven and earth, not to do what HE says HE would do. He has given you the vision/purpose be willing to walk in FAITH according to the instructions He has given you and believe that HE is not a man that HE should lie. HE will do what He says He will do. Your job is to keep putting one foot in front of the other everyday for though it tarrys,wait for it, for it will surely come to pass.

Remember..Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. ~Psalm 27:14

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So there is this dress, job, dream, goal, ambition whatever it is…you get my drift. Some thing you’d do anything to achieve..Well not anything( lol) but work hard. So for simplicity sake I’m going tell you about this dress. I am a lady after all. Follow me here…It’s my high school 20th year reunion. I see this killer dress in the store and I go to get it. Bummer! It’s a size too small. All other stores don’t have my size and I want it. I mean I gotta get. It would look fabulous on me. I have two options, get another dress or work to fit into this one. I want this one so….I decided to work…eat better and exercise should do the trick…right?

I get on the treadmill the first day and I’m like WTW? This is too hard, I have aches in places I never knew existed. I made a decision never to get back on again. Then I see the picture of the dress in my minds eye. Now two days later, I get on the treadmill again and hurt even worse than before. All for a dress? I can’t do this again, I want the dress but why am I hurting so bad?

Answer: I removed my hand from the plow

To fit into the dress, I can’t quit when it gets hard or I get tired. I have to work everyday, when I stop and start again…it is more painful than before because I lost the ground I had already covered.

Everything takes sacrifice and hard work. Nothing good comes easy. Nothing. The reason I hurt more is because I didn’t stick with it. In Luke 9, Jesus talks about the hardships of ministry. There is a cost to your ministry, purpose, dream job, dream dress, whatever you are tying to pursue has a cost and if you want it, you gotta earn it. Luke 9: 62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.

It’s the second day in March….March can you believe it? January and February are now in the past and we are in March. 59 days gone and 306 until the end of the year. How has it been for you? Are you on track? Are you staying the course? Did you do what you hoped to do in February? Well I fell short about 25 pages. I didn’t complete revisions for my new novel but I can’t let it go pass this weekend because I’m scheduled to start my novella March 15. I may have fallen short but I’ll keep pressing.

Pressing and perseverance is Key. It is the only way God finds us worthy to unlock our store of blessings. Do not loose faith, remember you can do all things through Christ but you have to keep going…it takes work.

PS: There was no dress…I’m a writer after all.I had to pull you in…LOL For me I’d substitute the dress for my writing ministry, my purpose and what I dream of accomplishing. Substitute the dress for whatever it is you are trying to achieve, how are you staying motivated?

Be Blessed.

Unoma

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Wow…it’s December 1st. Wasn’t it just January. It didn’t seem that long that we ushered in the New Year. Well, like it or not it has whizzed by. I hope this year has been all that you hoped it would be. Even if it didn’t go exactly according to plan, there’s still a lot to be thankful for. We are alive and with that there is hope. I like to call it confident expectation that His promises will surely come to pass.

That reminds me…in 2015 by the grace of God, I hope to bring you a series about confident expectations. Real briefly, it will focus on the question that asks the question..”I have found my purpose, now what?” Your purpose gives meaning to your vision but there is a process to get there. How do we stay steadfast through the ups and downs?

Speaking of ups and downs, as we move into the final stretch of the year, I want to encourage you to keep the faith and know that any attacks against you are not personal. The enemy just wants to halt what’s in you that you’re meant to give to the world. Perseverance is key.

Just like you have to crack the egg to fry it, or squeeze the orange for the juice or crush the olive for the olive oil…you will also undergo some kind of pain but we are called to endure. Paul said it best when he said in 2 Corinthians 4 vs 8 & 9 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

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I read this a while ago on Facebook and have been meaning to share it. There are times when we are rejected and being humans we cant but feel hurt a little. When given feedback (constructive one that is) you are allowed to hurt a little but you have to get back on that horse and try again.

Reminds me of the words of the late singer Aaliyah…”If at first you don’t succeed, try and tray again.” Do not let anybody EVER take away that dream you have in your heart. You are rejected the first time? You failed don’t let that make you give up. Keep trying. Persevere. Keep the Faith. Keep moving forward and in the end IT WILL PAY OFF believe that. Like Paul we should all keep pressing toward the mark.

Read this testimony and enjoy. I have read this book yet but I’m sure if she was willing to go through all that. It must be something.

Refusing to accept ‘No’ for an answer. In March 2010, as the acquisitions editor, I received a submission for publication consideration on the Urban Christian imprint. I rejected it, not because it wasn’t an interesting storyline with great content, but because it was all over the place. It was hard to follow because of all of the technical errors. It also lacked the tension that could exist due to the struggle and conflict between the characters. I wanted to be more connected and care more about what happened to the characters. I wanted to be emotionally drawn in. But with two characters talking in the same paragraph, incorrect punctuation and capitalization after dialogue…I just couldn’t get into it. I rejected it.

The author didn’t complain and ask why it was rejected. She only asked what could she do to make it better, if not for me, but for another publisher, and most importantly, so that it could be something she was proud to put her name on. I gave her some tips and some suggestions. She went in and did the best she could and resubmitted it, but it still wasn’t quite there yet. She worked on it some more and hired an agent. I rejected it when the agent sent it to me as well because there was still something missing from the ingredients. This woman went and hired a professional editor and submitted it yet again. This time I said no just because I was tired of reading it-LOL. Not really-I’m just kidding. I did reject it again, though, because by then it just wasn’t what I was looking for to publish on the line at that time. So she waited several more months and submitted it again.

I said, “God, she did everything I asked, but I still don’t feel like the time is now.” So what then entered my spirit as a reply from God was, “It will be my time.” Needless to say, four years to the day, almost, that I received her submission, Theresa A. Campbell‘s first book was released on the Urban Christian line and I’m currently editing her second one. Between the notes I gave her and working with a professional editor, this second manuscript, God Has Spoken, is bringing tears to my eyes. It is so well crafted and put together, that if she were a student and I her professor, I’d accuse her of plagiarism. That same author who sent me that submission four years ago is not the same author who wrote this book I’m now editing. This Theresa is the never give up, do the best that I can do and do ALL that I can to do, don’t accept ‘No’ for an answer and wait on a ‘yes’ from God Theresa. This right here is why I love my job!